By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The inaugural meeting of India-Japan Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue (2+2) was held here on Saturday. This meeting was held in pursuance of the decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, to institute a Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue for further deepening bilateral security and defence cooperation during the 13th India-Japan Annual Summit held in Japan in October 2018.
Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar headed the Indian delegation for 2+2, while the Japanese delegation was led by Foreign Affairs Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Minister of Defence Taro Kono.
The 2+2 meeting provided an opportunity for the two sides to review the status of and exchange further views on strengthening defence and security cooperation between India and Japan so as to provide greater depth to the ‘India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership’.
The two sides also exchanged views on the situation in the Indo-Pacific region and their respective efforts under India’s ‘Act East Policy’ and Japan’s ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision’ for achieving their shared objective of peace, prosperity and progress to realize a better future for the people of the two countries and the region.
